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Andrew's Tongue Tie

At the end of December, early January I (Alisa) was realizing Andrew was not feeding as he was supposed to be. I started attending breastfeeding support groups. A lactation consultant at one of the groups checked out Andrew's tongue and suspected that a tongue tie was to blame. Stephen and I wanted to get a second opinion and heard of another lactation consultant in the area who specialized in tongue ties. She confirmed that Andrew had a tongue tie and advised us to get it separated.

After researching different clinics, we decided on the only one in Ireland who separates with a laser. This clinic was 2.5 hours away! We were able to get an appointment quickly and we packed up all of the kids for the appointment.

While there, the doctor said that he suspected that Andrew had a lip tie as well. He separated that as well as Andrew's tongue. Andrew was so tired after it all. They showed us different wound care exercises, palate desensitizing exercises, sucking exercises and other physical exercises such as rolling and different tummy time positions.

Andrew post-surgery

I wish I could say that getting the surgery changed our whole situation, but sadly, it hasn't. Andrew still doesn't know how to use his new tongue and rejects feeding off of me a lot. I am having to pump 3-5 times a day for him, otherwise he will not eat. This is breaking my heart as I know I am missing out on a sweet bonding time with my baby that I had with my other two kids.

I am still doing the exercises with Andrew, praying and hoping that something will click with him soon. I am also praying that even if it doesn't, God will just give me the determination to keep pumping and would ease the disappointment in my heart.

I am thankful that Andrew never struggled with gaining weight and that there has been no big problems in him taking bottles. I have also had several moms reach out to me and to help me in this situation. I am grateful for their kindness and hope that I can be a help to them as well.